


Mission: Make Friends

by bravewarriorofthesea



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Gen, I'll add characters and ships as they appear, Riz and Gorgug should be best friends its what they deserve, this doesn't contain major spoilers but it could in the future so be warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24441121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bravewarriorofthesea/pseuds/bravewarriorofthesea
Summary: Two lonely kids find themselves in the same park at the same time multiple weekends in a row, but no meeting happens. Not for a long time. They exist in a state of ignorance about each other. With only two elementary schools in Little Branch they both attend different ones and for the longest time their paths do not cross.They are destined to meet one day, in detention on the first day of their freshman year. Corn will stain their clothes and a dangerous mystery will begin to unfurl, but in this story that isn’t their first meeting. In this story they meet in Big Branch Park, on the border of their neighbourhoods, one normal Saturday in the middle of June.A.k.a: The Riz and Gorgug meet as Kids AU nobody asked for.
Relationships: Riz Gukgak & Gorgug Thistlespring
Comments: 17
Kudos: 69





	Mission: Make Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks! 
> 
> So basically I was rewatching Fantasy High and just thinking about all the characters when suddenly I got invested in the idea of Riz and Gorgug being childhood friends so much that I wrote 4000 words about it because ??? I just love these two and I think they deserve some friendship. I think I'm going to add more to span the years up to (and possibly including) the series but here you go for now please enjoy!

On the border between Ballaster’s more rundown infrastructure and Little Branch’s scenic tree homes there is a park named Big Branch. This park isn’t the nicest in Elmsville that’s for sure, but it boasts a large array of playground equipment suitable for the residents of both Little Branch as well as the larger folk from Downtown Elmsville.

At seven years old it is Gorgug Thistlespring’s favourite place in the whole world, and he spends almost every Saturday at this park.

More specifically, he spends all his Saturday’s on the swings. He likes to sit on the swings that are just the right size for him and sometimes he’ll push so hard it feels like he’s flying. Gorgug could swing for hours and hours if given the time, enjoying nothing more than watching the sky and the world spin around him.

Sometimes the swings are a little lonely though. His parents are always pushing him to try and make more friends. They like to give him enough space to do so, not wanting to be pushy, but always staying close enough to keep an eye on him, and Gorgug wants to do them proud.

So sometimes, when the swings are a little bit lonely, and his mom has that smile that makes him know that he’s the most special person in the world, Gorgug will gather all his strength and courage and approach another kid to see if they want to play with him.

Sometimes the other kids will laugh in a way that makes his stomach feel strange. Sometimes they’ll pull him into a game with smiles, but more often than not he ends up the butt of a joke he just didn’t see coming. But that’s fine. Gorgug is just happy to be included. He goes back to the swings and when he feels ready he tries again.

On the border between Ballaster’s rundown infrastructure and Little Branch’s scenic tree homes there’s a park named Big Branch. It’s where a lot of the kids from Little Branch go to play at the weekend.

Riz found this out while listening to a conversation between a halfling girl named Rose and her friend Carey. They were sat on his table in class and ignored him for the whole day, but they talked loud enough that Riz could hear from his seat. He wrote in his very special notebook the name of the park, and next to it he drew a picture of a flower and a slide with a smiling goblin on it. At the top of this page were the words ‘Mission: Make Friends’ and he was so proud that he had spelt it all correctly.

Riz joined this class halfway through the school year but that’s okay. He likes a challenge and in this new school he’s going to make as many friends as possible. So, on the first Saturday morning after arriving in Elmsville he took his dads hand while he was reading an old book which used an alphabet that wasn’t Goblin or Common and he begged his dad to take him to the park.

His new elementary school is situated in Little Branch, but they don’t live in a tree or a nice home for their size. Riz is the only goblin in the whole school, just like he was in his class in Bastion City, but its the fact that everybody already knows each other that worries him the most.

When he explains this to his dad, showing him the parks name written neatly in his notebook, his father smiles ruefully and cannot resist. He packs together a small lunch for them both as well as the big books he was reading into his briefcase (Riz got a matching one for his last birthday) and the two take the walk from Strongtower Luxury Apartments to Big Branch.

It becomes a tradition for them whenever Pok isn’t working outside of Elmsville. He’ll take his case materials and the two will sit together in Big Branch for a bit before Riz goes off to play.

On that first weekend Riz starts off excitedly trying to make friends with everyone he can. He’s not sure why it doesn’t seem to work. He’s very polite and very enthusiastic, both characteristics his parents display all the time and they’re the best people he knows, but he’s always met with annoyed looks.

After an endless flow of rejection, when the name ‘Briefcase Kid’ comes onto the scene, Riz eventually gives up asking people to play with him. He still remains hopeful though, and so he and his father continue to visit the park together. Even if he feels a little lonely at times it’s still nice to go with his dad. Since coming to Elmsville his dad has been around a lot less, so their tradition is important to them both. 

Two lonely kids find themselves in the same park at the same time multiple weekends in a row, but no meeting happens. Not for a long time. They exist in a state of ignorance about each other. With only two elementary schools in Little Branch they both attend different ones and for the longest time their paths do not cross.

They are destined to meet one day, in detention on the first day of their freshman year. Corn will stain their clothes and a dangerous mystery will begin to unfurl, but in this story that isn’t their first meeting. In this story they meet in Big Branch Park, on the border of their neighbourhoods, one normal Saturday in the middle of June.

It’s a warm day, warmer than it’s been all year so far, and Gorgug has been asked to play a game. A bunch of the kids from the class above him were playing a game across the makeshift Bloodrush field, by one of the tallest trees in the park. In the tree there hangs a string of flags tied up at the very top, and the game involved attempting to get them out, a feat no one has ever in the long years the flags have adorned the tree.

Gorgug wasn’t exactly sure why they were doing it, but he had been asked to play and as Gorgug was rarely asked to do anything, he had readily agreed.

The thing was, the group had asked him to push them up into the branches, which had been easily done, but he wanted to get up there himself, which was a little harder. He had watched the other kids climbing higher and had decided to give the tree a running jump, grabbing onto the lowest hanging branch and pulling himself up.

Gorgug knew he was strong for his age, he was bigger than a lot of the other kids he knew and sometimes he felt a heavy anger inside him that confused him a lot, but made it easier for him to use his strength.

So, using all the strength he possessed Gorgug managed to pull himself up onto the first branch, feeling himself grinning as he looked to the other kids with wide eyes, hoping they were impressed. He only saw indifference on their faces, but that was fine, he would prove himself. After that it was easy for him to climb up further and further into the tree. 

The only issue was that the further up the tree he went the thinner the branches became. While the smaller kids were finding it harder to get to the next branch, Gorgug was finding that each branch was becoming less and less stable.

Over time the kids started to give up, to make their way back down laughing and boasting about how far they got up the big tree, but Gorgug kept going. He knew he could make it. He knew he could reach the top.

It was like when he was playing on the swings, the higher he got the freer he felt.

It wasn’t until he was in almost touching distance of the flag did he realise how high up he was. But Gorgug had no fear, he was brave just like his parents told him.

Taking a deep breath Gorgug pulled up to the next branch, steadying himself as he wobbled. It really didn’t feel very safe at all but all Gorgug had to do was reach out for the flag, grab it and then retreat back to the bigger branch. Inching his way along the branch, he stretched out his fingers, breathing very, very carefully as he felt fabric brush the tips of his fingers.

With one last stretch Gorgug gripped hold of the material, but in doing so he felt himself lean forwards ever too much.

Suddenly everything was moving too quickly for Gorgug to comprehend and he was plummeting through the tree. He felt branches rip into his clothes as he desperately scrambled to grab hold of something to stop his descent. Unfortunately, he only managed to slow his fall by inches as almost too quickly for his mind to realise he was hitting the ground with a loud thump.

As soon as Gogug hit the ground he felt a splitting pain in his leg and angry tears instantly springing to his eyes. He tried to hold onto his emotions, but the pain was too much as he felt his anger surge. Looking around he tried to catch sight of one of the other kids, but they had all vanished back to the park, leaving him alone in the tree and now in pain on the floor.

Gorgug couldn’t help but begin to cry as he realised what had happened, he needed to find his folks but as he tried to move he felt a searing pain he’d never felt before in his leg. That was about the point that he saw wide yellow eyes right in front of him and heard a worried voice.

“You fell out of that tree, are you okay? Of course you’re not okay, oh no, oh no.”

Gorgug could barely look at the kid in the eye as he shook his head, tears slipping from his eyes as he gritted his teeth. “I-I think I broke something. It hurts real bad.”

The stranger looked at him with wide eyes for a moment before he took his hand and gave it a firm squeeze, his wide yellow eyes focussing in on him.

“I’m going to go get my dad, he always knows what to do. Okay? I’m going to go get help and then I’ll be right back.”

Gorgug squeezed his hand back tighter than was probably reasonable as he spoke his words of reassurance. He was in a lot of pain. He just wanted his parents but he didn’t really want the other kid to leave him either. Gorgug was terrified that he was going to run away and then just not return, but the boy looked so earnest as he let go of his hand to run across the stretch of playing field faster than Gorgug expected. 

Gorgug barely had chance to realise what was happening before the kid was running back towards him, being followed by an adult goblin in a smart shirt and trousers, who was pulling something out of his briefcase.

The kid was quicker than his dad, and made it back to his side in moments, his eyes still looking frantic as he sat down next to him again.

“I’m back, see? It’s okay I’m not going to leave you while you’re hurting. My name’s Riz, my dad is going to be able to help you really soon. What’s your name?”

Gorgug didn’t know why this kid was being so nice to him, but he felt relieved listening to his quick talking, it gave him something to think about that wasn’t how badly his leg hurt.

“I’m… I’m Gorgug. Do you know where my parents are?”

The kid, Riz, shook his head, glancing over his shoulder. “What are they called? I can go and find them and-“

“Hey kiddo, don’t rush your words.” Gorgug looked up to see the goblin man who had been following Riz approach, crouching down beside him so they were both perched just above Gogug on the grass. He squeezed Riz’s shoulder before looking down at Gorgug, an obvious warmth in his matching yellow eyes. “Riz, what’s your friends name?”

“Gorgug. He’s called Gorgug.”

For some reason, Riz didn’t even hesitate to answer his dad’s question, he didn’t even correct him to say that they weren’t friends, that they hadn’t even met before. Gorgug didn’t know what that meant, but it felt strange. Even through the pain he was feeling it felt nice that Riz wasn’t immediately distancing himself from him, but he wasn’t sure what it meant.

“Okay, that’s a lovely orcish name Gorgug, very strong.” Riz’s dad spoke with a smile, as he continued to route through a briefcase, pulling out a little bottle and a healer’s kit. “You must be pretty strong to have gone so far up that tree.”

Gorgug looked up at him and wiped away the tears from his eyes, nodding slightly.

“That’s good, it’s good to be strong. My name’s Pok, I have something here that should take the pain away and restore your health, but your leg is still going to ache for a few days.”

Pok was holding out the little bottle with red liquid inside it and Gorgug hesitated to take it. His parents had always told him not to take anything from strangers.

At seeing his hesitation Pok let out a small hum of realisation, nodding his head. “That’s smart, you’re smart not to take something from a stranger. Okay, what are your parents names? I’ll come get them and if they’re not okay with you taking the healing potion we’ll get you to a hospital right away.”

That felt better to Gorgug, who had never really been good at telling whether people were trustworthy, so he nodded, managing to speak quietly through his tears. “Digby and Wilma Thistlespring. They’re gnomes, not half orcs like me.”

Pok nodded, turning to Riz for a second. “You make sure Gorgug is okay while I’m gone, okay kiddo? I’ll be right back.” With that Pok was running towards the park, a determination in his eye similar to his son.

“Does it hurt really bad?” Riz asked, frowning as he moved to sit closer to Gorgug.

Gorgug nodded, wiping at his eyes hard to try and make himself stop crying. It was embarrassing to cry in front of someone else, it was so childish and he hated it but he couldn’t stop.

“It’s okay to cry Gorgug, that’s what my mom says. She sometimes gets hurt at work, she’s an officer for the police department and she’s the coolest person in the whole world. Although you seem pretty cool, I saw you climb all the way up that big tree to get the flag. You almost got it too!”

Riz looked up and Gorgug followed his eyeline, seeing where the brightly coloured flags were still twisted in the upper branches.

“I’m sorry that your friends left you, that wasn’t nice of them. If I hadn’t been here, you could have been even more hurt cause they left you.”

“Not really my friends..” Gorgug mumbled, turning to look away from the tree. “I thought maybe if I got the flags...” Gorgug trailed off.

He wasn’t sure what he had thought. Or, well, he was too embarrassed to say that he thought if he had retrieved the flag maybe he could prove that he was useful enough to be friends with the group.

Riz nodded, clearly understanding the logic behind Gorgug’s assumption. If he did something cool then maybe they’d want to be his friend. Riz had tried that before but it often didn’t work out how he wanted it to.

“Well, they’d have been bad friends if they left you alone in a tree so it’s not a loss. I’m sure you have other friends.” Riz spoke as if he already knew the truth, as if he was so sure that Gorgug must be popular, even though he knew nothing about him.

Gorgug averted his eyes from Riz, staring down at his leg that was still throbbing in a way he just wanted to stop, feeling more than a little embarrassed. “Not really.”

Still looking down at his leg, Gorgug missed the hopeful look that sprung across Riz’s small face at his words. The little dart of connection that Gorgug would later come to know as Riz connecting the dots to find an answer that was true and real. In this case Gorgug did not see the look, but he heard the answer in a firm and dedicated voice.

“I’ll be your friend.”

Despite the still throbbing pain of his leg those words caught Gorgug’s attention, and he looked at the small goblin boy directly in the eye, unsure what he would see there. He hesitated, trying to read what he saw in his eyes.

Gorgug wasn’t very good at reading people, he could never quite predict what they were thinking or even feeling, but in that moment Gorgug had never been so sure that someone was being sincere. That this boy, with his yellow eyes filled with a strange hope and determination, would be the best friend he ever had. That the offer was genuine and heartfelt and came from a position so similar to his own. One of loneliness, one of being different.

In that moment Gorgug almost forgot the pain as he nodded.

“Um, yeah...” He paused for a moment, before remembering what his mom had told him about manners. “Please, I would like to be your friend.”

In that moment Riz smiled so brightly that Gorgug could see every one of his sharp teeth, and it made him smile too. He hadn’t even realised that his tears had stopped until his parents were rushing to his side, fussing over him with such worry on their faces. Pok had returned as well, but now the healing potion was in his dad’s hand instead of the goblins, who was inspecting it briefly before passing it to Gorgug and pestering him to drink it.

“It’s definitely the real thing bud, you’re gonna be just fine if you drink this.”

Gorgug nodded, his eyes glancing to his new friends for a moment before he drank the strange liquid.

Instantly Gorgug felt some powerful magic, alchemical and so new to him, setting his bones straight and he felt the pain dissipate as if it was being brushed away. The aftertaste was surprisingly slightly minty, and Gorgug would grow accustomed to the strange flavour of healing potions over the years, always startingly different depending on who made them.

In many years time Riz would spend hours dedicated to learning how to craft his own potions, as dedicated to the craft as he was to his cases. He’d smile when he presented Gorgug with the first finished potion, stating that it was in case he fell out of any more trees.

As Gorgug felt the pain dissipate he managed to sit up, looking at the crowd of people all gazing at him. He felt suddenly very awkward and surrounded, but his mother took his hand, his father taking the other.

“Are you okay buddy?” Her voice was soft, and he knew she wasn’t just talking about his injury.

Gorgug would talk to them both later that night, he would tell them about how he felt angry that he’d been left alone in the tree, and worried that maybe Riz was just being nice and didn’t really want to be his friend.

But for now he nodded, stretching his leg that was no longer broken. He looked up at Pok, smiling ever so slightly. “Thanks for the healing potion.” He spoke quietly, before turning to look at Riz, feeling a little embarrassed. “Um, thanks for finding me and not leaving.”

Riz had stood up from the ground, a nervous look in his wide yellow eyes. “It’s okay, I’m glad your leg is better.” He had gravitated towards his father slightly, and Gorgug could see the similarities between them as clear as day, even if Pok was double Riz’s size.

At his words Digby pulled away from Gorgug’s side, a wide grin on his face as he approached Riz and his dad. “Thank you so much bud, you did so well to go get your dad and help out our little Gorgug. If you’d like to come over for dinner as a thank you we’ll cook up something really special. And Mr Gugak!” He turned to Riz’s dad, eyes twinkling in a way that would become a familiar sight. “We would be more than happy to reimburse you for the potion, I know how pricey they can be! But we can talk about that later, yes, yes? Dinner first?”

Pok let out a small chuckle, ruffling Riz’s hair. “What do you say Riz?”

Gorgug couldn’t help but feel excited about the idea of Riz coming back to his house. Normally he would be embarrassed about his parents being so enthusiastic on his behalf, but he wanted to see if Riz was telling the truth. To see if they’d actually be friends. He really believed that he was, and he wondered what that would mean.

Riz looked a little nervous, but as he glanced over Gorgug’s features he settled. Whatever he saw there seemed to fill him with his unbridled confidence. Looking up at his dad he nodded, his smile now wide as he turned to look at Gorgug.

“I’d like that, dad.”

After that it was easy for Wilma to help Gorgug to his feet, still fretting even though he was completely healed. It was easy how Pok so instantly charmed the Thistlespring’s, taking the lead on the walk back to their tree to give Gorgug and Riz a bit of space to talk. It was easy how Riz had broken the silence by explaining what he was doing near the trees (looking for clues) to continue the conversation talking about his mom (the best detective in the whole of Solace) and to move on to explaining the plot of his favourite fantasy books (Caleb Cleaveland: Kid Cop) all before they reached Gorgug’s home.

Gorgug listened excitedly, hanging onto every word, even if he got lost at some points. Riz was the most interesting person Gorgug had maybe ever met, and he found himself nodding along to his words, interjecting whenever Riz got lost on a sentence he hadn’t thought he’d get to the end of.

When they reached the tree, Gorgug showed Riz his room. His head almost touched the roof now, but to Riz it looked like just the right size as he looked out of the window with wide eyes at the scenic view. Gorgug played some of his favourite music from the little crystal station his folks had got him for Solstice Holiday, he showed Riz his collection of cool looking rocks and Riz listened as he explained where he found them all.

They were both cautious, that first evening as they ate dinner in the garden with the sun high above them, listening to their parents talk and laugh. It was a caution that came from games abandoned, from mean nicknames and exclusion, but it was a caution which would slip away over the next few weeks and completely vanish by the start of the summer holidays.

That night Gorgug would ask if he could invite Riz around to play some time that week, he would smile so softly as his parents exclaimed about how wonderful it was that he’d made a new friend. He would go to bed that night and the ache in his leg wouldn’t bother him at all as he thought about his friend who was so interesting and smart.

Riz would go home to his apartment with so much energy, he would talk to his dad all the way home about his new friend and he’d beam at his mom when she came in late to tuck him into bed, declaring that he’d made a friend and that he was so kind. Before he turned off the light to go to bed, he would find his special notebook with the drawing on the first page and write beside it _‘I met my friend Gorgug today. Mission Complete!’_

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm definitely going to write more of this, possibly including some of the other bad kids also being childhood friends? We'll see where it takes me folks! 
> 
> Please let me know if you enjoyed <3
> 
> (P.s. the working title for this fic was Team Green)


End file.
